4 replies to this topic

[Weltenbummler]

Yep... WOB has the biggest car factory (combiened) under one roof:



alone that picture shows the Forschung und Entwicklung ( Scientist & Development)
also shortform "FE":
http://www.wolfsburg...nwerk/Luft0902-

here we seen die 1938 built "Kraftwerk"
(Powerplant)


and here we see almost the whole lenght of the factory at night:
...It takes 30 Minutes to walk alone from the "Kraftwerk" to the "Verwaltungshochhaus" which you see all the way on the end of that picture:
http://www.wolfsburg...nwerk/IMGP0542-

Here is the verwaltungshochhaus (Adminstration of VW) 13 stories high


Some Pictures cannot be with "img" Image displayed,
'but I do found them here:
http://www.wolfsburg...swagenwerk.html

A little bit history of WOB and the success story:

WOB -shortform for Wolfsburg- was until the mid 30'th just a couple little Villages like
"Fallersleben", "Vorsfelde", "Rothehof" und "Hehlingen".

From "Fallersleben" was the famous "Hoffmann of Fallersleben" who wrote the German
"Nationalhymne" around 1848 on the Island "Helgoland" which started with the phrase:
Deutschland Deutschland über Alles, über alles in der Welt...........

Anyhow... Until the 1930'th...wolfsburg didn't even exists, exept those little above mentioned villages.

It was Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche, who had 1925 the Idea of building a small car, the "Peoples cars".
Porsche was an Ingenieur at Mercedes, but his Ideas were refused by the Mercedes Leadership, so he left  Mercedes and opend up his own [/i]Ingenieur Büro in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, where today the famous "Porsche Werke" (Plant) is.

By the End of the 1920'th Porsche still remained somehow connected with Mercedes and he also engineerd the Mercedes Roadster SS.

By 1933 he meet the new German Cancellor Adolf Hitler and proposed his Idea of a small affordable Car, and Hitler, who had no ingenieurs knowledge and understand nothing about cars supported Porsches Ideas, because he just liked the Idea of a small cheap car with great Gas Mileage what can be produced in big numbers easely, fast and cheap.

The next step was, that 50 Prototypes -built by Mercedes- were running on the new built
German Autobahn for testing purposes.

Those tests were very successfull and the next step was to built a new factory the
Volkswagen Werk.

The Planners of "Wolfsburg" were looking to a very successful american Car Manufactor, Henry Ford, and basicly copied his Ideas, where a factory should be:

1.) In the middle of the country
2.) Good Road connection (Autobahn)
3.) Rail road connection
4.) a waterway (Mittellandkanal)

so, they came up with "Fallersleben" to built their new factory and named that Town
KDF Stadt bei Fallersleben ( KDF Town nearby Fallersleben)
KDF stood for "Kraft durch Freude" ( Strenght through Joy ).

The factory was built in 1938, and the car named "KDF Wagen" (KDF Car) had a pricetag of
990 Reichsmark.

1939... the war started and VOLKSWAGEN stoppt producing zivil cars for citizens, and production was mostly the famous Kübelwagen ...in the USA known as the "Thing" .

1942... Porsches son law, Anton Piech becomes Chairman of Volkswagen

volkswagen also built a engine with a "wood burning carburator" caused by Fuel Shortages and effort to conserve Oil.

1943 ...the worlds first amphibios car, the [i]"Schwimmwagen
Porsche also designs and engineerd the famous German Battletank "Tiger" and the "King Tiger", which was the the best Tank at that time, and several other tanks as well.

1944... May 44 heavy bombing destroyed about 2/3 of the factory.
but productions remains, even some parts for the world first rocket were produced in Wolfsburg.

1945 the war ends and the factory is in ruins, but under british government production starts again, even die British dont want the whole factory and prodicting no future for the car nor the factory.

1945/47 The french government want to produce such success car like the volkswagen as well and they try to convince Dr. Ferdinand Porsche to design them their own car but Porsche refuses and the french got mad and thrown him in jail under the thread to prosecute him/ He and his son in law Anton got locked up for almost 2 years and both got very siek doing the harsch conditions and the bad treatment.

in 1948 Mr. Heinrich Nordhoff takes over and was the first Chairman of Volkswagen after the war.
In the same year, Porsches Son Ferry started the Porsche Factory in Stuttgart.

Nordhoff also designed the VW-Bus in the that year and a new factory in Hannover Stoecken is built to produce that "VW Bus"

Nordhoff also visited the USA in that timeframe and he brought 3 VW-Käfer ( VW Beatle) with him, and the success story of Volkswagen of America beginns.

1949... the German 'Wirtschaftswunder" beginns, and Volkswagen really gets going and the success Story of Volkswagen now really starts.

1951... Jan-30-1951 ....Porsche dies at 75

1952 ...Anton Piech dies. Both died as late results of the harsch treatment suffered in the french jail.

The 1950'th  and 1960'th Volksawgen is doing really good and the factory and the productions as well the sales are increasing every year.

April-12-1968 Heinrich Nordhoff dies (Same day of death, when FD Roosevelt died Apr-12-1945)

1970... the first watercooled VW Engine is built in the Modell "K 70"

1972... the VW-Käfer is the most produced car in the world and outnumbers now the famous
Ford Model "T"
Wolfsburg as town becomes with the "Gebietsreform" a "Gross Stadt" (gross means big in German Language), and now has around 120000 population.

1973... the Oil crisis and Volkswagen, who's main production was the VW-Käfer (Beatle) almost gone bankrupt, and new modells must designed and built fast.

1974... the new generation: Polo, Golf (Rabbit) , Passat and Scirocco and the 2. Boom started

1975... Volkswagen suffers a short 2.crises (Quality crises) caused by cheap metall from spain and severe Problems with their alternators made by Motorola.
Volkswagen also merges with Audi and buying Audi.

1976 ... Volkswagen intodruce the VW-Golf Diesel, which makes 50 MPG Fuel economy
at about the same time, they started production of the VW Golf GTI with 110 HP
and 0-60 MPH in 9 sec.

1980... Audi produces the first four wheel drive Car "Quattro"/

1987... Ferdinand Piech, son of Anton Piech, becomes Chairman of Audi in Ingolstadt

around 1989... Volkswagen buys "Seat" in Spain.

1992...Ferdinand Piech runs against David Goedevert, who wants to promote public transportations rather than individual cars. Piech becomes Chairman of Volkswagen. Goedevert loses.

1993 ... Industrial "war" between GM General Motors and Volkswagen.
Mr. Lopez of GM goes to Volkswagen and was accused of Industrial espionage.
Volkswagen wins that legal battle, but the US President, the German Chancellor and the FBI is heavely involved in that "mess". The US wants to procecute Mr. Lopez in the US, but German judicial systems refuses to exterdite Mr.Lopez into USA. Mr. Lopez is now living in Spain.

1998/99... Volkswagen built a 3 cylinder car which runs about 110 MPH and makes 78 MPG
in Mass production.

2002... Prototype built (only one is built) which makes 220 MPG, but production of that car is too expensive.
VW just wants to show off, what is possible.

The sucess story continues!
Volkswagen now owns.... VW / AUDI / SEAT / SKODA
and also own:.... "Adler" Typewriters, "Europcar" Rentalcar, several big caddle ranches in  South america and so much more.

Volkswagen and Cars of the Volkswagen Group now is the most choosen car in Europe!

Grüsse   

P.S.: Above post is written down by myself, not copied.
Dates are written down of my own memory and may not 100 % correct.
I have lived in Germany, born  and grown up there.

Edited by Weltenbummler, 22 August 2006 - 05:06 AM.

[monsoon]

It's an interesting story and some of which I have heard before.   I learned to drive in a 1965 beetle, which was built in the Wolfsburg plant and had the Wolfsburg symbol layered into the hub of the steering wheel.

[Mobuchu]

Never new all that about Porsche and VW.  Thanks for the writeup.  I found this funny:

"It was Porsche, Ferdinand Porsche, who had 1925 the Idea of building a small car, the "Peoples cars".
Porsche was an Ingenieur at Mercedes, but his Ideas were refused by the Mercedes Leadership, so he left Mercedes and opend up his own [/i]Ingenieur Büro in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, where today the famous "Porsche Werke" (Plant) is."

I bet Mercedes is regretting that now.

ps. VW "Thing" was a fun little car

[Weltenbummler]

@ Metro.m:
yep, I have learned driving on a volkswagen Käfer (Beetle) as well.
It was March of 1977 and my Father had a 1973 VW Beatle 1303.
I was 12 at this time pushing 13 (in May).
And he let me drive as reward for good grades in school, which really was a great ambition.
He let me drive only drive on county roads, but it was a lot of fun though.
The "Wolfsburg symbol" stands for the castle in wolfsburg!
Well, the WOB-Castle actually called "Wolfsburg" but is not listed under "Wolfsburg Burg",
matter fact is listed under "Schloss" (Wolfsburg Schloss).
The word's "Schloss" and "Burg" means nothing else than "Castle".
so, the VW Symbol shows a castle and a Wolf, what is Wolfs-burg stands for.
The castle is almost 1000 years old, was started to built in 1100 (some parts) and some other parts were added in 1200, and the whole castle was finished in 1500.

here is a much bigger photo of that castle, which I want post because of the huge size:
http://www.die-regio...g_Photowerk.jpg



@ Mobuchu:
well, in the 1920 th a car was only meant for rich people, and mercedes claimed to built only for the rich and famous. So, I can somehow understand their position.
Porsche was just way ahead of the time with his ideas, and ironicly only Hitler understand the needs of a small, affordable und fuel efficient car in 1933/34.
Without Porsche there would be no small car at this time, and without Hitler there would be no small car either, because Porsche was 1933/34 rather poor than rich and could not afford to have his project started, because of the lack of money. He needed a sponsor, but nobody wants to sponsor his ideas.
It was just his luck, that Hitler liked his Ideas and gave Millions of Reichsmark and had a brandnew factory built in wolfsburg.
Hitler himself was even not able to drive a car, nor had he a "Führerschein" (Driving permit / Driver License).
The Idea and the design and the concept was Porsches mind, the Name Volkswagen came directly from Hitler and he created that!
Volk=Nation/People
Wagen=Vehicle/car   .
There are also romors, that he gave the Name Wolfsburg which was first named KDF-Stadt bei Fallersleben.
Hitler had a obsession with "Wolf" and "Adler" (Eagle). His military headquarters in East Prussia was named
"Wolfsschanze" (Wolfs Lair) and his Headquarter in the west "Adlerhorst" ( Eagles Nest )
Adler=Eagle
Horst=Nest
The "Thing" was a fun car , also called VW 181, and was first seen in WWII with the German Wehrmacht, and even die "Bundeswehr" (German military forces after WWII )  had that Vehicle until the  1980'th in usage, matterfact it was even produced until the 1970th.

[Rural King]

I attended university in Braunschweig not far from Wolfsburg, so I have been by that plant many times on the way to Berlin or points east. It is a VERY impressive facility.